The Devi Karumariamman temple, which had been in the Koyyathoppu area of Chepakkam constituency in Chennai for the past 70 years was demolished on the early morning of 11 March 2023 with police protection.
A part of the temple, including the Gopuram, was built 30 years ago with the help of former governor and Congress MLA Jyoti Venkatachalam in the 1970s.
This demolition of a 70-year-old temple by the DMK government has sparked public outrage in the locality. In a letter addressed to the engineer of Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB), Hindu Munnani leader Vijay Kumar has condemned the demolition of a temple that has been in place for over 70 years.
சென்னை சேப்பாக்கம் தொகுதி கொய்யாத் தோப்பு பகுதியில் கடந்த 70 ஆண்டுகளாக வீற்றிருந்து அருள் பாலித்து வந்த தேவி கருமாரியம்மன் கோயில் இந்து விரோத திமுக அரசால் இன்று காலை 4.30 மணியளவில் போலிஸ் பாதுகாப்புடன் இடிக்கப்பட்டது. குடிசையில் இருந்த கோயில் 30 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன் pic.twitter.com/5TPI2V014N
It is also reported that the Gandhi statue, which was erected by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Kamaraj near the temple, was demolished along with the temple. However, no Congress leader has condemned the DMK government’s destruction of the Hindu temple or the Mahatma Gandhi statue opened by Congress stalwart Kamarajar.
It is worth noting that the temple comes under Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Chepakkam-Tiruvellikeni constituency.
உதயநிதி தொகுதியில் இன்று இடிக்கப்பட்ட கோயிலுக்கு அருகே காமராஜரால் திறந்து வைக்கப்பட்ட காந்தி சிலை இடித்து அகற்றம்..@INCTamilNadu@INCIndia காங்.காந்தியை மறந்து நாளாச்சு! திமுக வின் கைக்கூலியாக மாறி நாளாச்சு!! pic.twitter.com/4jedRTwiIn
“Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies. Their fate is intertwined. Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market but failed. Adani is accused of stock manipulation and his stock collapsed like a house of cards,” said billionaire hedge fund investor and philanthropist George Soros at the Munich Security Conference on February 17.
Soros then turned to the next page of his speech.
“Modi is silent on the subject but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in Parliament. This has significantly weakened Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government and opened the door to push much needed institutional reforms. I may be naive, but I expect a democratic revival in India,” he concluded.
Well known as a regime changing agent who funds anarchists and lobbyists to wield ‘soft’ power on various countries, George Soros’ pointed claims of a “democratic revival” did not go unnoticed.
Soros’ interference in the affairs of the former Soviet Union countries, in Israel as well as in some African nations, to force his idea of politics on the citizens of those nations, is well documented.
Soros has been ruthless in his pursuit of wealth and now, in his sunset years, is equally ruthless in his pursuit of power.
Soros’ modus operandi is to identify talents and fund them to set up complex, tangled and inter-linked networks of “do-gooders”.
Thousands of such individuals are roped in to carry out his ideas about what democracy should be. Lawyers, non-profits, activists of every hue, politicians, educational institutes are all roped into this web.
Team Lede spent days following the money trail of prominent and not-so-well-known NGOs in India and zeroed in on the most insidious foreign funder of them all – George Soros.
The Lede’s series – India’s ‘Soft’ Enemies – has tracked several aspects of George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund investor, and his activities in India.
You can read more about Soros and his global regime-changing methods in Part 1.
You can read about how Soros’ philanthropic arm – Open Society Foundations – has circumvented the FCRA restrictions and continues to fund Indian NGOs in Part 2.
The Lede also dug deep into the organised protests in Tamil Nadu post Jayalalithaa’s demise and who funded the NGOs and activists who led them, in Part 3.
In Part 4, we delve into the key individuals who dance to the tunes of Soros and appear to now be trying to effect a change in regime in India.
Salil Shetty
Salil Shetty, Bengaluru born and 62 years old is George Soros’ lieutenant and his pointsman in India. He currently works as Vice President – Global Operations in Open Society Foundations.
Shetty is in India ahead of the 2024 elections. He even joined Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on one leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Here’s a short background of Salil Shetty.
As is evident from Shetty’s background, he appears to be very close to the UK government and has a phenomenal network in at least two continents – Europe and North America.
Shetty is also the mentor and architect of India’s organised non-profit sector, moulding next rung regime change agents within India and helping place them in key positions on the managements of mega NGOs, both foreign and domestic.
From the fount of Shetty flows the money through convoluted routes to a variety of large and small NGOs which feed off and fund each other.
This tony clique has used many social causes to their advantage – from women’s rights, to education and Dalit empowerment. Little real work has been done on the ground though with the funds that have been allocated for specific projects.
Fancy annual reports boasting of claims of having saved thousands, even lakhs of Indians from poverty and distress are just those – claims.
The real intent of these funds is to mobilise the masses for protests for or against the Soros sepoys’ ideology, to impose legislation on the country and now, work towards regime change.
Amitabh Behar
Behar is the CEO of Oxfam India and was a former Executive Director of the National Foundation for India. A mentee of Shetty, the organisations led by him have been the recipients of major funding from Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) as well as other foreign NGOs that are funded by the OSF.
We will take you through some of the Indian NGOs which have received funding from Oxfam India.
Centre for Equity Studies led by Harsh Mander, a former member of Sonia Gandhi’s National Advisory Council who was also recently in the running for a Nobel. This organisation has received Rs 1.2 crore from Oxfam.
Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) which was founded by advocate Ritwick Dutta. This was also highlighted in our Part 3 series as he was counsel for Fathima Babu, one of the leaders of the anti-Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi in 2018.
Association for Rural and Urban Needy (ARUN) in Telangana which is run by Bezwada Wilson. Partners of Oxfam in ARUN include the Fund For Global Human Rights, a Washington DC based organisation for building activism and protest groups across the world.
Swadhikar or National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), founded in 1998 and now led by Paul Divakar Namala.
Oxfam India has also granted Rs 1.4 crore to the Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion (CSEI) between 2016-17 and 2020-21 as shown in their FCRA filings with the Indian government.
Oxfam India itself has, as its donors, the Malala Fund. The Malala Fund is another well-known fund that donates to promote education for girls and is funded by Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
This couple are active in the NGO space and lead and mentor numerous non-profits. Annie Namala, in fact, was one of the brains behind the Right to Education Act which was enacted under the UPA rule in 2009.
It was under Annie Namala’s watch that the much celebrated RTE legislation was drafted to state that the Act was not mandatory for schools run by and for minorities. This exemption has come under criticism from many quarters for being divisive and sectarian. Not only this, questions were raised as to how an individual flooded with foreign funding could be allowed to tweak legislation at her will.
Both the Namalas run organisations that are heavily funded by Soros-affiliated NGOs from across the world.
As a sample, The Lede analysed the foreign funding of Annie Namala’s CSEI from 2016-17 to 2020-21. The details are available on Darpan, a site for NGO details, maintained by the Niti Aayog.
CSEI is funded by GCAP (Global Action to Call Against Poverty), a UN Millennium project helmed by Salil Shetty. GCAP, in turn, funds the Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) which is a loose collaboration of activists and NGOs in India. Annie Namala is a Convenor of the WNTA, while Amitabh Behar is a founding member.
Another funder is the Goodwill Community Foundation which is funded by World Vision. World Vision is, in turn, funded by the Open Government Partnership. The Partnership has Soros’ Open Society as one of its biggest donors.
Other donors to CSEI are Oxfam India, National Foundation for India (NFI), both of which are Soros-funded. Another donor is the YP Foundation, which is funded by the American Jewish Service, which in turn is funded by OSF. The American Jewish Service also directly funds CSEI.
Similarly Acumen, another donor, is a charity whose biggest donor is Andreas Soros Colombel, the daughter of George Soros. The Malala Fund, a Soros-affiliated entity, also contributes to CSEI.
One more donor of note is I Partner India. This is a non-profit aimed at helping other non-profits get donations and funding, especially from abroad. It is led by Bina Rani, wife of Salil Shetty.
The final funder of note is called Commutiny – The Youth Collective. This NGO is funded by donations from Dasra and Pravah. Dasra is funded by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, while Pravah is funded by the American Jewish Service and Commutiny, both of which are backed by Soros’ charity.
Gagan Sethi
Sethi is a key embedded mentee of Salil Shetty and he is now also a trustee at the National Foundation for India (NFI), a non-profit based in Delhi. Apart from this, he is also the founder of Janvikas. Sethi is also a Governing Board Member at Oxfam India. He is also Vice Chairperson of a non-profit called the Centre for Social Justice.
Sethi has actively helped set up organisations, mostly in Gujarat. The Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, Sahjeevan, Drishti, HID Forum and Transform Rural India are all his initiatives, among others.
As The Lede had already revealed in Part 2 of the series, NFI continues to receive funding from Soros’ foundations, despite severe FCRA restrictions. Funding from the Soros entities are routed through multiple other foreign NGOs and end up in NFI.
The Lede analysed NFI’s funding from 2015-16 to 2021-22. The total amount received from Soros-affiliated NGOs in this period is Rs 10 crore. Of this, Rs 27 lakh was donated directly from Oxfam India.
Biraj Patnaik
“Patnaik is another mentee of Salil Shetty, just as Amitabh Behar is. He was Amnesty International’s South Asia Director. Now he executive director, National Foundation for India”
George Soros is a well known benefactor of Amnesty International and has been accused of using the organisation to organise protests, lobby and push legislation through in various countries. For instance, Ireland ordered Amnesty to return 137,000 Euros to Soros which was its funding to overturn the abortion law.
In 2018, when Hungarian President Viktor Orbán launched his ‘Stop Soros’ campaign, Amnesty published a statement in Soros’ defence.
Amnesty International has also been accused of having jihadi links by several governments and critics. The Israeli research firm NGO Monitor provides evidence for the same and also details how Amnesty backed controversial protests in Israel with intent to change the regime.
Patnaik is a high flyer, speaking at global conferences about the poor state of human rights and basic necessities as he perceives them.
Rohini & Nandan Nilekani
The IT power couple from Bengaluru have pledged 50% of their wealth to charity and are supporting a number of NGOs which are believed to be fomenting trouble and anarchy within India using foreign funding.
Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies had, in the past, been a donor for one such non-profit – Amnesty International India Foundation Trust. As we already saw, it is an entity funded by George Soros.
Rohini Nilekani also funded and launched a campaign called ‘No Voter Left Behind’ in early 2019. Salil Shetty is part of this campaign or unregistered entity (it is not clear which).
As we have seen earlier, Rohini Nilekani also funds a non-profit called Dasra which in turn funds the CSEI and the Namalas.
It is also worthy of note here that Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani had got a ticket from the Indian National Congress in 2014 to fight the Bengaluru South seat in the Lok Sabha polls. This move was immediately after his stint with the UPA government as Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), better known as Aadhar.
Anurag Behar & Azim Premji
Behar is the brother of Amitabh Behar, whose connections and network we have witnessed earlier in this piece.
Anurag Behar is the CEO of Azim Premji Foundation and is also the Founding Vice Chancellor of Azim Premji University.
As noted earlier, non-profit Dasra is funded by Azim Premji Foundation among others.
Both Premji and Nandan Nilekani together have provided funding of Rs 9 crore in 2020-21 to CSEI. The reason for funding is stated in the filings – “Humara Bharat goal is to seed a movement by and for young people of all gender An unstoppable force that will galvanise communities, the marginalized, to stand up for our constitution.”
It is not clear as to why so much money from abroad was coming in to support Humara Bharat, a campaign started by Salil Shetty.
A Little Known Experiment
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, a number of the aforementioned individuals and their NGO colleagues got together to attempt to change the direction of the election in India. As narrated by a former NFI employee (who did not wish to be named), the small constituency of Kalpi, in Uttar Pradesh was chosen for the pilot.
Yuva Shakti, a “movement” helmed by CSEI to mobilise youth and spread awareness, became the tool for the experiment instead. Youngsters were asked to campaign and influence the voters. However, these efforts came to naught.
This episode, however, gives the reader a glimpse into the intent behind the laborious methods used to set up networks of people and money.
It is clear that the 92-year-old billionaire and his Indian sepoys have set their sights on India a year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
What is unclear is to what level anarchy and chaos will be taken to, for the regime change agents to get their way.
(This article was originally published in The Lede and has been republished here with permission.)
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
On 11 March 2022, DMK Rajya Sabha MP MM Abdulla unleashed an abusive tirade against two individuals, one of whom is a woman journalist, for speaking against DMK IT wing whose members allegedly harass anyone who criticizes the party on social media.
It all started with DMK supporters and cadres sharing a morphed image of political commentator ‘Savukku’ Shankar. The original image of Savukku Shankar standing with a few men at a tea shop with a file close to his armpit was morphed to look like a pimp in front of a brothel.
அரசியல் புரோக்கர் வேலை செய்யும் சிலுக்கு சங்கர் என்பவரை பற்றி ஒரு மீம்ஸ் யாரோ ஒருவர் புரோக்கர் மாதிரி எடிட்டிங் செய்து வெளியீட்டார் அதன்பிறகு சிலுக்கு சங்கர் பற்றி இணையத்தில் ஏராளமான மீம்ஸ் றெக்கை கட்டி பறந்தது அவற்றின் மொத்த தொகுப்பும் இங்கே இணைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது
Enraged, Shankar stated that this was the ‘disgusting work’ of the DMK IT team of Udhayanidhi in Chinnamalai (in Chennai), which is allegedly funded by the DMK State deputy secretary of IT wing Karthik Mohan alias ‘Anna Nagar’ Karthi. Shankar implied that the Chinnamalai IT team was funded by Karthik Mohan’s money from G Square, a real estate company allegedly linked to the DMK’s first family. He also stated that DMK Rajya Sabha MP MM Abdulla visits the Chinnamalai IT wing twice a month to encourage them to engage in abusive tweets and post on those who criticize DMK on social media.
Soon after Savukku’s tweets accusing DMK IT wing members of abusive tweets, a few anonymous accounts supporting the DMK began trending meme templates depicting Savukku Shankar as a ‘pimp’.
DMK MP MM Abdulla responded to Savukku Shankar’s accusation by saying, “Savukku Shankar is claiming that the Chinnamalai IT team photoshopped him to look like a pimp. If the Chinnamalai IT team had done it, they would have depicted him as a prostitute in the Marina beach background, demanding ₹5 for hand j*b and ₹10 for blowj*b.”
When Savukku Shankar said that MK Stalin has made such a person who uses abusive language in public as a Member of Parliament, MM Abdulla abused again saying,”Hey Moothevi (a slur word about Hindu god). Then do you think MK Stalin will make a broker like you as MP?”
In response to the abusive rant, Savukku Shankar asked if the MP was drunk, to which MM Abdulla replied, “Do you think I’m a pimp like you to pour (drinks) and pimp?” DMK MP MM Abdulla further continued his rant.
— Pudukkottai M.M.Abdulla (@pudugaiabdulla) March 11, 2023
In another tweet, he abused a female journalist Sonia Arunkumar, who also spoke against the cyber harassment meted out by a few Dravidian Stockists. Linking Savukku Shankar and Sonia Arunkumar sexually, DMK MP MM Abdulla said,” I’m now a member of Parliament. Had I been a troll master like before… I would have posted the ‘Kaathal’ movie meme template showing them (Shankar and Sonia) as ‘Maama and Maami, a good combination’. Now that I am an MP I should not do that. It is wrong.”
Journalist Sonia Arunkumar responded to the sexual remarks by saying, “This is how he serves the state by becoming an MP. His sole accomplishment was inspiring four retards to pursue anyone who criticized them. I would have referred to him disrespectfully if he hadn’t been an MP.
This abusive rant of DMK MP MM Abdulla received backlash on social media. However, no mainstream media has covered the DMK MP’s vulgar rant.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
A meeting was organized at Chinniyampalayam, Coimbatore to welcome members from other parties who joined the DMK. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin presided the event as the chief guest.
Around 4000 Members from different parties like AIADMK, DMDK, Thamizhaga Munnetra Kazhagam and Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Mmiam (MNM) joined the DMK in the presence of party president MK Stalin.
MK Stalin welcome the newly-joined members with party’s veshti (white veshti with red black border) and other paraphernalia.
Addressing the members, MK Stalin said that those who floated new political parties with the dream of becoming Chief Minister are no where today.
“We’re seeing new parties that appear suddenly. Such parties claim that they will form the government just one day after its formation or on the same day or even before forming. Those who said, ‘I am the next Chief Minister’, ‘We will only come to power’, and formed parties with such intentions, we’re witnessing to what extent they have gone, and how they are roaming like orphans.”, MK Stalin said.
DMK Chief nowhere mentioned @ikamalhaasan's MNM which formed to uproot both Dravida Party's and now going behind the same DMK.. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/F3tDREBiHO
It is worth mentioning that the recent political parties that claimed to be an alternative to both Dravidian parties initially was Kamal Haasan’s MNM. Kamal Haasan had openly expressed his ambition to become Chief Minister and change fate of Tamil Nadu forever. However, he has today moved closer to the DMK alliance with the MNM openly coming out in support of DMK-ally Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan in the recently-concluded Erode East Assembly Elections.
Many on social media wondered if Stalin was indirectly taking a jibe at Kamal Haasan.
The proposal of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to construct toilets at a cost of more than a crore per toilet drew criticism from the public and sparked concerns about whether public funds were being looted in the name of constructing toilets.
On Wednesday (March 8), a ceremony was held on behalf of Greater Chennai Corporation to award a contract for the construction of toilets in areas of Rayapuram, Thiruvika Nagar, and Teynampet in the Chennai district.
It is said that the contract for building and maintaining the toilets has been given to a private player. A budget of ₹430 crores has been set aside by Greater Chennai Corporation to construct 372 toilets. However, the name of the private player has not been made public.
It is worth noting that the Greater Chennai Corporation has laid the groundwork for a 13,708-square-meter park as part of the ‘Singhara Chennai 2.0’ project, near the mint flyover on Basin Bridge Road in Chennai’s district.
This raises a number of concerns about the GCC project to construct toilets at a cost of more than a crore each. Why should Chennai Corporation award a contract to construct 372 restrooms at a cost of ₹432 crores if it can construct a 13,700 square meter park on its own for 5 crores?
Netizens questioned if they are building toilets or a five-star hotel.
Dr. Krishnasamy, President of the Puthiya Tamizhagam Party, has stated that the DMK is doing politics in banning online Rummy gambling similar to the NEET exam.
While addressing a press conference in Chennai on February 10th, Dr. Krishnasamy said, “What has the governor to do with this bill? Why can’t the CM and his son visit Raj Bhavan, which is close by, when they can travel to Delhi? Why are you looking at Governor as an alien? Why don’t the chief minister, his son, or a DMK minister go straight to the governor and tell him that online rummy is making people suffer? What’s holding them back? There is no point in blaming the governor for Rummy issue.”
He said, “Even after two years in power, the DMK has not kept its election promise to measure electricity once a month. Various protests were held on behalf of the New Tamil Nadu Party and other parties in this regard. DMK is mistaken in believing that people will eventually forget their promises.”
He further added, “The Erode by-election victory, which was marred by many irregularities, should be annulled and a re-election should be held. The DMK government has no intention of banning online gambling.”
He went on to say, “Every time a law is proposed for legislation, it should be done with the intention of passing it; however, the DMK government is only doing this for the sake of passing a law. Like NEET, this is a diversion played by them (DMK). DMK is doing politics in banning online Rummy gambling like it was doing politics in the NEET exam.”
He said, “The governor has made a compelling argument that only the central government has the legal authority to legislate on online gambling. Instead of blaming the governor, the DMK government should investigate legally and take action.”
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
There is a friction that is straining the ties between BJP Tamil Nadu led by K. Annamalai and the Edappadi K. Palaniswami-led AIADMK. This friction has turned intense following the exit of CTR Nirmal Kumar who headed the IT wing of BJP Tamil Nadu. Nirmal Kumar jumped ship to AIADMK owing to his differences with Annamalai. It wouldn’t have mattered if he had just resigned and joined another party. However, just moments before his formal announcement of joining the AIADMK, he left a resignation letter in bad taste. This is being seen as a political move by Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) in order to gain upper hand over the BJP and as a distraction tactic to shift the focus away from the AIADMK’s drubbing in Erode East by-poll
As a result of this episode, there is a friction with cadres and supporters of both sides smoking and leaving sparks in support of their respective leaders.
Speculation is also rife that AIADMK leader EPS is going to ditch Narendra Modi for Rahul Gandhi for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to get minority votes.
With political strategist Sunil Kanugolu having worked with EPS and is currently working for the Congress, this speculation has been gaining credence.
On the other side, there is Thirumavalavan who seems to be dejected in the DMK alliance as evident from his recent speech, waiting for the AIADMK to severe ties with BJP so that he can ditch the DMK or at least leverage it for bargaining more seats in 2024 Lok Sabha elections within the DMK alliance.
The EPS-led AIADMK alliance polled nearly 40% in the 2021 Assembly polls. Booth-wise study will show that a majority of that 40% were predominantly Hindu votes.
On the other hand, DMK polled 45% to emerge victorious and out of which say 20% in absolute terms were minority votes. A rough calculation would would make one arrive at this number – for every 8 Hindus who voted for EPS, only 5 voted for Stalin.
Yet DMK emerged victorious as parties like NTK and AMMK led by TTV Dinakaran spoiled the chances for ADMK led alliance in many seats as they ate into ADMK’s vote bank.
EPS has to understand minorities never backed ADMK over the last 50 years. It is consolidation of the dominant Other Backward Communities, Scheduled Castes plus Forward Community votes which helped AIADMK rule the state for a record 31 out of 50 years of its existence.
EPS lost 2021 not because minorities did not vote for him but because TTV Dhinakaran led AMMK sabotaged AIADMK’s chances in more than 20 seats and the AIADMK had no strong regional satrap to win the KTCC region covering Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Chennai and Chengalpattu districts where AIADMK lost 35 out of 36 seats.
Inability of EPS to accommodate TTV Dhinakaran and inability of the party to groom a satrap in Chennai were the reasons for the defeat, not minority votes as minorities would not have voted for AIADMK anyways going by past history.
EPS must realize that there is no anti-Modi wave in Tamil Nadu now like 2019 and there is a huge underlying anti-incumbency and Hindu grouse against the incumbent DMK government.
This anti-incumbency could potentially swing 5% more in NDA’s favour in 2024 and help them take a lead over UPA provided the alliance exists till 2024.
If EPS accommodates AMMK along with BJP, PMK and numerous smaller outfits and leads NDA in TN in 2024, he would be spearheading a strong united NDA that can potentially repeat 1998 LS polls outcome in 2024 by winning 25+ seats and 45%+ votes.
If EPS ditches Modi-led BJP, DMK alliance will romp home in all 39 seats with even just 40% votes and EPS stands the risk of finishing third behind Annamalai-led BJP. In such a scenario, both the BJP and the AIADMK will score ducks with 20-25% votes each.
EPS stands the risk of losing many strong satraps in future even in Kongu region to BJP if he ditches Modi for Rahul. These satraps along with TTV, OPS and BJP could emerge as a far bigger electoral combination for EPS to tackle.
EPS indirectly contributed to the growth of BJP big by letting them stand alone in the recently concluded local body polls. With anti-Modi wave waning out, EPS risks the chance of letting BJP emerge as the second largest party in 2024 and he getting relegated to the third place by going with Rahul.
EPS proved he is a sensible and a shrewd administrator as a Chief Minister. He also proved to be a jack of the political trade by successfully keeping the party together in the years after Jayalalithaa.
Hope he proves his shrewdness and political deft once again by not ditching Modi for Rahul.
None can pull off another a MGR or a Jayalalithaa in AIADMK henceforth. Both of them were phenomena. Though EPS can’t become one of them, he can rise in his stature only if he wins 2026. And to win 2026, he needs Modi by his side all the more than Rahul given the fact BJP is growing fast in Tamil Nadu. He gains by being with BJP because of the latter’s ability to complement AIADMK electorally through consolidation of Hindu and anti-DMK votes.
If EPS-led NDA could garner 8 Hindu votes for every 5 garnered by DMK in 2021, it can easily garner 9 or even 10 Hindu votes for every 5 DMK is going to garner in 24 by aligning with Modi-led BJP given the changing ground realities and the emergence of BJP in Tamil Nadu. BJP is no longer a liability for AIADMK given the changed dynamics. In fact, it could tilt the scales in AIADMK’s favour big time. It is up to EPS to realise this and act accordingly.
At the same time, the BJP in Tamil Nadu is a fast-growing party but is yet to match the organizational structure that the DMK or AIADMK has at present. Annamalai’s infectious energy has got the cadres enthused and has given a new zeal to the party. His upcoming padayatra across Tamil Nadu will definitely help in strengthening the party’s presence. However, he will need the support of AIADMK atleast for the next two elections – 2024 Lok Sabha and 2026 Assembly Elections, to put up a fight against a united DMK front. Of course, a lot can happen over this timeline.
If the BJP decides to go alone for 2024, it has to end the alliance now so that the cadres and voters can be prepped in the run up to the elections. If it keeps the tension simmering between them and AIADMK but finally strike an alliance with AIADMK closer to elections, it would only be a name-sake alliance with no chemistry on the ground. The BJP should negotiate and convince the AIADMK leadership to go with the MGR formula (more seats for Lok Sabha elections while settling for less seats in Assembly).
One thing is clear. The enemy is united and rock-solid, as on date. A fractured fight is no fight. The need of the hour is a strong united front that can take on the enemy head-on.
Remember – United we stand, divided we fall.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
On the occasion of Holi on Tuesday (March 7), a man named Mohammad Shabbir in Telangana set his ‘friend’ Anjaiah on fire simply because the latter smeared colors on him. ‘The News Minute,’ which covered the incident, attempted to portray the perpetrator of the crime in a less negative light trying to shift the blame on the Hindu victim.
The online outlet meticulously wrote their article to defend the man’s rage for assaulting his friend. However, the news organization subtly changed the text of the report after enraged Twitter users called attention to the impudence.
When describing Muhammed Shabbir’s gruesome murder, TNM stated that the accused Shabbir felt so disrespected and insulted that he doused Anjaiah in petrol and set him ablaze, trying to project that Anjaiah committed the crime rather than the accused Shabbir.
A Twitter user named Sai called out TNM’s one-sided story, tagging Dhanya Rajendran, Editor-in-Chief of TNM, and asking, “Who writes copy like this? It almost sounds like a justification. Even by #TNMurasoli standards, this is terrible.”
Later, TNM changed the text of the writing without issuing an apology for the original version after receiving backlash on social media for their insensitive writing.
The person who called attention to this offensive writing claimed that Dhanya Rajendran, who deleted the tweet and edited the text, would give a sermon on media ethics.
It should be noted that the article by The News Minute was released on March 9, two days after the horrifying incident in which a Hindu man was mercilessly set ablaze by one Mohammed Shabbir for no other reason than that he had applied some color to him. The TNM’s headline stated: “Upset at being smeared with color, a man allegedly sets friend ablaze in Telangana.” The News Minute, as seen in the headline, defended the offender from the beginning by implying that the victim was to blame for smearing Muhammed Shabbir with colors during Holi.
The bias displayed by TNM in its coverage of the incident was quickly brought to light by users online. As a result of the controversy on Twitter, the media outlet quietly changed the article’s text. The two words “Insulted and disrespected” that had been used to defend the horrifying crime committed by Mohammad Shabbir were removed from the revised article.
The Union Government has released 14th instalment of tax devolution to State Governments amounting to ₹1,40,318 crore today, as against normal monthly devolution of ₹70,159 crore.
This is in line with the commitment of Government of India to strengthen the hands of States to accelerate their capital and developmental expenditure.
State-wise breakup of amounts released is given below in the table:
Maharashtra Police on 6 March 2023 registered an FIR against one Sahil Mohammed Shakir Sayyed for forcing Hindu woman to have sexual relations and issuing death threats to her. The accused also reportedly forced the woman to follow Islamic rituals and practices.
The complaint has been filed under IPC sections 376 (rape), 377, 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), and also under sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
According to the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the victim and the man got married as per the Islamic rituals in the year 2022. The woman post-marriage got a new Islamic name and began staying with her husband in the Mukundnagar area of the city. The accused, after a few days, began eyeing the Hindu female friends of the victim and would harass them by calling them at odd times. He would also defame the victim woman on calls.
The incident came to light when one of the female friends of the victim called her and informed her about Sayyed. She complained that the latter called at 1:30 midnight one day and harassed her over the phone. Later, the accused also happened to issue death threats to the victim woman. The woman then reached the police station and registered a complaint against her husband.
The accused was called and the matter was somehow settled by the police. The duo then reached home, where the accused turned furious and picked up a rod to hit the woman for approaching the police. However, to save herself from the beatings, the woman consumed a bottle of chemicals. She was immediately taken to the hospital by the accused. The incident is said to have happened on December 21, 2022.
Sayyed then asked the victim to go to her maternal aunt for rest till January 10 this year. But in the meantime, he brought another Hindu woman to his home and began staying with her. The victim never returned to her home after December 21 and began staying with her sister, as per the FIR.
The man then forced the woman to return and stay together with him and his new wife. On refusal, he barged into her residence and established sexual relations with her without her permission. The woman in the complaint mentioned that she was brutally raped and assaulted by the accused.
“He raped me and forced me to stay with him and his new wife. He also told me that he wanted to establish sexual relations with me and his new wife at the very same time. He said he wanted to see how it feels. I refused. He then threatened me and used abusive language for my family,” the woman stated in the complaint.
As per the complaint, Sayyed has also snatched all her jewellery and assets including Rs 1.25 lakhs and is refusing to return them. The woman further said that the accused has a total of 3 wives including the new one. He has issued death threats to the victim and has been using derogatory language for the family members of the victim.
The complaint in the case has been registered under IPC sections 376 (rape), 377, 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and also under sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
This report was originally published in OpIndia and has been republished here with permission.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
“United We Stand, Divided We Fall”: A Word Of Caution For EPS And Annamalai
There is a friction that is straining the ties between BJP Tamil Nadu led by K. Annamalai and the Edappadi K. Palaniswami-led AIADMK. This friction has turned intense following the exit of CTR Nirmal Kumar who headed the IT wing of BJP Tamil Nadu. Nirmal Kumar jumped ship to AIADMK owing to his differences with Annamalai. It wouldn’t have mattered if he had just resigned and joined another party. However, just moments before his formal announcement of joining the AIADMK, he left a resignation letter in bad taste. This is being seen as a political move by Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) in order to gain upper hand over the BJP and as a distraction tactic to shift the focus away from the AIADMK’s drubbing in Erode East by-poll
As a result of this episode, there is a friction with cadres and supporters of both sides smoking and leaving sparks in support of their respective leaders.
Speculation is also rife that AIADMK leader EPS is going to ditch Narendra Modi for Rahul Gandhi for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to get minority votes.
With political strategist Sunil Kanugolu having worked with EPS and is currently working for the Congress, this speculation has been gaining credence.
On the other side, there is Thirumavalavan who seems to be dejected in the DMK alliance as evident from his recent speech, waiting for the AIADMK to severe ties with BJP so that he can ditch the DMK or at least leverage it for bargaining more seats in 2024 Lok Sabha elections within the DMK alliance.
The EPS-led AIADMK alliance polled nearly 40% in the 2021 Assembly polls. Booth-wise study will show that a majority of that 40% were predominantly Hindu votes.
On the other hand, DMK polled 45% to emerge victorious and out of which say 20% in absolute terms were minority votes. A rough calculation would would make one arrive at this number – for every 8 Hindus who voted for EPS, only 5 voted for Stalin.
Yet DMK emerged victorious as parties like NTK and AMMK led by TTV Dinakaran spoiled the chances for ADMK led alliance in many seats as they ate into ADMK’s vote bank.
EPS has to understand minorities never backed ADMK over the last 50 years. It is consolidation of the dominant Other Backward Communities, Scheduled Castes plus Forward Community votes which helped AIADMK rule the state for a record 31 out of 50 years of its existence.
EPS lost 2021 not because minorities did not vote for him but because TTV Dhinakaran led AMMK sabotaged AIADMK’s chances in more than 20 seats and the AIADMK had no strong regional satrap to win the KTCC region covering Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Chennai and Chengalpattu districts where AIADMK lost 35 out of 36 seats.
Inability of EPS to accommodate TTV Dhinakaran and inability of the party to groom a satrap in Chennai were the reasons for the defeat, not minority votes as minorities would not have voted for AIADMK anyways going by past history.
EPS must realize that there is no anti-Modi wave in Tamil Nadu now like 2019 and there is a huge underlying anti-incumbency and Hindu grouse against the incumbent DMK government.
This anti-incumbency could potentially swing 5% more in NDA’s favour in 2024 and help them take a lead over UPA provided the alliance exists till 2024.
If EPS accommodates AMMK along with BJP, PMK and numerous smaller outfits and leads NDA in TN in 2024, he would be spearheading a strong united NDA that can potentially repeat 1998 LS polls outcome in 2024 by winning 25+ seats and 45%+ votes.
If EPS ditches Modi-led BJP, DMK alliance will romp home in all 39 seats with even just 40% votes and EPS stands the risk of finishing third behind Annamalai-led BJP. In such a scenario, both the BJP and the AIADMK will score ducks with 20-25% votes each.
EPS stands the risk of losing many strong satraps in future even in Kongu region to BJP if he ditches Modi for Rahul. These satraps along with TTV, OPS and BJP could emerge as a far bigger electoral combination for EPS to tackle.
EPS indirectly contributed to the growth of BJP big by letting them stand alone in the recently concluded local body polls. With anti-Modi wave waning out, EPS risks the chance of letting BJP emerge as the second largest party in 2024 and he getting relegated to the third place by going with Rahul.
EPS proved he is a sensible and a shrewd administrator as a Chief Minister. He also proved to be a jack of the political trade by successfully keeping the party together in the years after Jayalalithaa.
Hope he proves his shrewdness and political deft once again by not ditching Modi for Rahul.
None can pull off another a MGR or a Jayalalithaa in AIADMK henceforth. Both of them were phenomena. Though EPS can’t become one of them, he can rise in his stature only if he wins 2026. And to win 2026, he needs Modi by his side all the more than Rahul given the fact BJP is growing fast in Tamil Nadu. He gains by being with BJP because of the latter’s ability to complement AIADMK electorally through consolidation of Hindu and anti-DMK votes.
If EPS-led NDA could garner 8 Hindu votes for every 5 garnered by DMK in 2021, it can easily garner 9 or even 10 Hindu votes for every 5 DMK is going to garner in 24 by aligning with Modi-led BJP given the changing ground realities and the emergence of BJP in Tamil Nadu. BJP is no longer a liability for AIADMK given the changed dynamics. In fact, it could tilt the scales in AIADMK’s favour big time. It is up to EPS to realise this and act accordingly.
At the same time, the BJP in Tamil Nadu is a fast-growing party but is yet to match the organizational structure that the DMK or AIADMK has at present. Annamalai’s infectious energy has got the cadres enthused and has given a new zeal to the party. His upcoming padayatra across Tamil Nadu will definitely help in strengthening the party’s presence. However, he will need the support of AIADMK atleast for the next two elections – 2024 Lok Sabha and 2026 Assembly Elections, to put up a fight against a united DMK front. Of course, a lot can happen over this timeline.
If the BJP decides to go alone for 2024, it has to end the alliance now so that the cadres and voters can be prepped in the run up to the elections. If it keeps the tension simmering between them and AIADMK but finally strike an alliance with AIADMK closer to elections, it would only be a name-sake alliance with no chemistry on the ground. The BJP should negotiate and convince the AIADMK leadership to go with the MGR formula (more seats for Lok Sabha elections while settling for less seats in Assembly).
One thing is clear. The enemy is united and rock-solid, as on date. A fractured fight is no fight. The need of the hour is a strong united front that can take on the enemy head-on.
Remember – United we stand, divided we fall.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.